Elli's Anatomy
by Kuruk
Summary: Thinking that she's a bad doctor, Elli tries to resign. Dr. Jamie Kurt rejects her request, telling her to wait another day before deciding. She thinks her mind is made up, but when a life is placed in her hands, will Elli rise to the challenge?
1. Preface

Hey, all! It's Kuruk!!!

Anyway, this is a new fic I thought of while watching 'Grey's Anatomy' and reading 'A Shadow's Light' by Ekoaleko.

Eli + Merideth Grey great romance/drama...

So, please bear with me as I write this story, as it wll be LONG... think TV Sereis...

Anyway, so you got people from More Friends and Friends of Mineral Town, A Wonderful Life, DS, and Magical Melody all rolled up into this story! Imagine, huh?

This is about doctors and surgeons, however, I am not a doctor myself, so don's rag on me if I get my terms wrong or talk about a condition that is wrong, or about a proper drug to use... or whatever. So, if you watch the show, then you can alreadyfind similarities between the positions, but I've changed some genders around (Jamie is a BOY here although his equivalent in the show is a woman).

Also, expect more characters, like a Burke and McDreamy's wife (Grey's Anatomy characters, don't ask if you don't know...). I plan to make this different from the show, so those of who haven't watched don't worry, because you don't know the show to understand this fic...

Without further ado... enjoy 'Eli's Anatomy'!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, Grey's Anatomy or some elements of the plot. I own SOME of it, though... 

* * *

_Everything changes… _

_Life changes…_

_Love changes… Dreams change…._

**Eli's Anatomy**

_Our cast…_

Eli Grey: A twenty-five year old young woman who has recently been accepted to the prestigious Mineral Hospital as an intern. While she is kind and hardworking, she lacks direction in life and applied to the job on her ill grandmother's wishes, not her own. She plans to be a surgeon.

Tim Sheppard: An attractive thirty-seven year old man who has been working at Mineral Hospital for well over a decade. An attending, he is known as one of the best surgeons in the hospital. He is now only serious but can also be quite fun, but he has become more serious now that he's in the middle of a divorce.

Popuri Thomas: A somewhat ditzy twenty-two year old girl that was accepted to Mineral Hospital as an intern. While she may appear to be ditzy and unfocused, her skill with a scalpel is excellent. She became a doctor to please her brother, who is a surgeon at a hospital in another state.

Karen Lang: A very beautiful twenty-five year old young woman who has also been accepted to Mineral Hospital as an intern. She is guarded and careful, but only because she her heart has been broken before. She and her friend Mary both applied to the internship program on a whim, but they are still good doctors.

Mary Romaine: A shy twenty-four year old woman that has been accepted to the Mineral Hospital internship program. She is shy and coy, but enjoys having fun with people she trusts. Although she and Karen are not the best doctors out there, they are still competent and skilled with a scalpel.

Gray Hawkins: A serious, brooding twenty-four young man tat has been accepted to the internship program at Mineral Hospital. He prides himself with the education he got, though it is a façade to his real self. Gray was accepted to the program without a waiting period because of his great skills, though he is lacking in his bedside manner.

Cliff Forester: A shy yet friendly twenty-six year old young man who has just been promoted t resident. Although he has been promoted, Cliff still 'hangs out' with the new interns and lives like one. Cliff is currently competing with Jamie for the promotion to Chief Resident, something he wants for personal reasons.

Jamie Kurt: A strict thirty year old man that oversees the unfortunate interns at Mineral Hospital. One of the best residents out there, Jamie prefers to stay out of the operating room and in the clinic. He has been assigned to take care of the new batch of interns, something that he does not look forward to.

Alex Boxer: A laid back thirty-three year old man who is also one of the best attending surgeons at Mineral Hospital. Alex and Tim have history, and he and the Tim are best friends and have been since medical school. Although competent, Alex is known as a womanizer by the nursing staff.

Andrew Hardy: A tough fifty-five year old doctor who is also the Chief Attending at Mineral Hospital. Hardy is renowned for being able to save any patient and for his toughness. Although he is tough, he has a warm interior and enjoys watching people grow. He mentored Alex, Tim, Jamie and most recently Cliff.

_The characters will come and go, but these are the ones that will stay with you as the story progresses… Next time, get ready for the Premiere of Eli's Anatomy!_

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Like, or too early to know? This is just an introduction to the characters, so bear with me as I write an update.

Show your love by reviewing and telling me if you like the idea! Even if you can't tell yet, review just because!!! You know I love reviews... they make my day; so please, please review!!!

I sound pathetic... Hn...

Bye!

Kuruk


	2. Pilot

Hey, update time! The character profiles were just an introduction while I wrote about the actual story. This chapter, the equivalent of a pilot for new sereis, so read up!

Not that italics are Eli narrarating in a Grey's Anatomy fashion like Merideth does at the beginning and end of every episode. Just so that you guys can know what's going on!

Enjoy!

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Pilot 

_You never know what life's going to throw at you… One day you could be a millionaire and the next you can be homeless, bankrupt. If you don't understand why this happens then you don't need to; no one knows why life has made a habit of throwing things at you that you have no use for._

_But the only thing you can ever take condolence in is that sometimes, _sometimes_, like an angry wife throwing random things at her cheating husband while she's throwing him out of the house, you may just catch something that you can use, something you need; something you can love._

_Don't ask why, don't try to get a refund, just take it and go…_

"I'm going out, grandma!" she called, slinging her coat over her shoulder, waiting for the old woman's reply.

It came accompanied by a few hacking coughs. "That's fine, dear," Ellen said from her rocking chair, sounding old and feeble, "You go on and celebrate now…"

Eli peeked into the living room, a look of worry etched on her face. "Are you sure, grandma…? I could stay… I know that you don't like being alone, plus you have to take care of Stu and-,"

"Eli," Ellen said sternly, eyes opening a bit more than normal, "You have just been accepted into one of the best hospitals in the country as a surgical intern," her grandmother pronounced every syllable with grace, making Eli feel like a little girl again, "If that is not worth going out over, then I do not know what is."

Eli bit her lip. "But grandma-,"

"But nothing," interrupted Ellen, frail hand raising and wagging her finger at her, "I will not have my beautiful, intelligent and _young _granddaughter waste away taking care of an old bird like me… Besides, doctors keep horrible hours, dear; I may as well get used to dealing with things without you here…"

Eli finally sighed in resignation and nodded reluctantly. "Fine, grandma… just take care, okay? Call if you need anything… My phone number's on the table, so is Stu's doctor's and your doctor's, so just pick up the phone and call if-,"

"Eli, I am not a child," Ellen huffed, "I have lived more than three times than you have and can take care of myself and a _well-behaved_," Ellen raised her voice, and the noise coming from the bedroom ceased faster than Eli ever could make it stop, "ten year old boy… Now, go on, your friends are waiting…"

She hated to leave them… they were her responsibility after all…

Eli nodded and made her way outside where her friends were waiting in their car, honking loud enough to wake the dead.

She waved at them and locked the door tight, then scurried down the sidewalk to where they waited, screaming at the top of their lungs as she opened the door and got in.

The fiery redhead at the wheel raised her hand in what appeared to be defeat. "Designated driver," she groaned, "I lost at paper-rock scissors…"

"Hello to you too, Ann," Eli laughed, hugging her friend from the backseat, then turning to the short-haired brunette sitting next to her, "Hi Lu!"

She and Lumina hugged, and after they separated and Ann floored it and got going, Lumina screamed over the radio. "You and I, my dear, are getting wasted tonight!" she cried, dancing in tune with the music, Gwen Stefani's 'The Sweet Escape'.

Ann could've turned green with envy as she watched her friends dance at the prospect of drinking. She herself had been saddled with driving and watching as they enjoyed themselves.

It took nothing but fifteen minutes to get to the club they had been planning on going to and Ann found a parking space right in front of the entrance where a line from the door to around the block had formed.

They got out and trotted their way over to the bouncer, who looked at them incredulously. "It's my friend's here," Eli waved as Lu spoke to the guard, "Last night of freedom. How about you let us in…?"

The guard looked at Eli with a grin. "You getting married? Girls that are getting married shouldn't go to a club filled with all those temptations flying around…"

Eli shook her head glumly. "No, worse… I start my internship at Mineral Hospital tomorrow… surgery…"

The bouncer whistled and stepped out of the way. "My brother's a surgeon… Good luck, girl…"

The club was dark save for the different color lights that moved in tune with the music, Britney Spears' 'Gimme More', of all things. Eli and Lu stuck their tongues out at the song, but Ann started dancing. "Love this song!" she yelled.

After Ann's episode, the girls made their way to the bar, where Eli and Lu ordered margaritas; Ann ordered a coke and leaned back in her stool as the others licked the salt of their lips.

"Don't hate," Lumina mocked, waving the little pink umbrella in front of Ann's nose, cheeks flushed, "You shouldn't bet anything you can't afford to lose, my dear…"

Ann stuck out her tongue at them and Lu, then, hearing a song that she 'loved', grabbed Ann's hand and ran out onto the dance floor, begging Eli to come too. Eli shook her head, instead ordering another round and slumping down against the seat.

What was she doing here?

Why was she here?

She didn't know… she just didn't know…

"Excuse me…" a deep voice said, pushing himself in beside Eli, "A Sprite, no, no, no alcohol."

Eli, intrigued by this faceless man, swiveled around in her chair and looked at the nonalcoholic man.

He was attractive… she couldn't help but notice. He had raven-colored hair, short, but it fell and covered some of his forehead without touching it. He had pale skin that accented those midnight, sharp eyes of his.

But what Eli found most interesting about him was his big yet nimble and trained looking hands. She recognized those hands. Her parents had them, she had them…

They were the hands of a surgeon.

"Designated driver?" Eli asked the man with surgeon's hands.

He looked at her, and then grinned. "No, I'm on call, you see," he showed her a small beeper clipped onto his belt, "I'm a surgeon."

_Score one, Eli!_

"Oh really," Eli said, officially interested in the man, "Then what brings a surgeon, on call and therefore unable to indulge in the benefits of a bar, come to a club like this one?"

The man's grin did not fade. "I'm actually here waiting for someone, a friend…"

It was as if the universe wanted to torture her…

A man popped up at the word 'friend', drink in hand, a smile on his fresh-looking face. "Hey, Tim!" the man said, totally ignoring Eli, "What are you doing, talking about work _again?_ Lighten up, you workaholic!" he swiveled around, only now realizing that Eli was there, "Whoa… I'm sorry, miss, and your name is?"

"Eli," she said, maintaining her cool.

"Eli this is Alex Boxer, the idiot I've been waiting a half hour for… Alex Boxer, this is Eli, a woman I have just met." the surgeon, Tim said, dark eyes turning serious as he inspected his 'friend'.

The 'friend', Alex, had light brown hair and piercing green eyes. He was attractive, maybe hot, but he lacked a certain… dreaminess that Tim possessed, at least Eli thought.

"Oh, _Eli!_" Lu said, dropping in at the worst possible time, "Who are these friends of yours?"

Ann dropped in too, a glint in her eyes. "Well, well, holding out on us, huh Eli?"

Tim seemed to sigh and sag as Alex trotted over to the girls and began to flirt shamelessly, making already tipsy Lu laugh like she had never laughed before.

And the icing on the cake, Eli decided, was when she was about to start talking to Tim again when a shrill beeping sound stopped her. As one, Tim and Alex reached at the pagers on their belts and looked at them, expressions furrowed.

"Car accidents," Tim sighed, clipping his beeper back onto his belt, "The hospital is understaffed, no interns… the residents are still to green… Dr. Kurt has the day off… the Chief needs _us…_" Tim said all this to Alex, who sighed and pocketed his beeper, handing his drink to Tim who put back onto the bar.

"Wait," Eli said, confused, "You're _both_ doctors?"

Before Tim could respond, Alex did. "Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"

Tim sighed and made his way towards the exit. "Let's go, you need coffee before you even set foot in the OR…"

And just like that, they were gone…

"Bummer," Lu said, then took Eli's arm and dragged her out on the dance floor, who complied without a word.

* * *

The next morning was horrible for Eli. 

Besides being hung over, she needed to show up for work at seven that morning, which was the craziest thing she thought when she was struggling to get up from bed. She showered, dressed and drank her coffee black.

She hated alcohol…

After that, she made her way to Stu's room, her little brother, and checked up on him. Then, she made her way into Ellen's room and checked up on her. They were both dead asleep and did not stir when she checked up on them.

The drive to work was quiet and pretty quick, although she was late for waking up later than she had to. Rushing and cursing as she ran into the hospital, she stopped at the front des, very flustered.

"Do you know where Dr. Kurt is?" Eli asked hurriedly, tapping her foot impatiently as the receptionist summoned the information on her computer. The hospital was nice, Eli noticed while she waited, very modern looking, but it still wasn't past the color white.

"Dr. Kurt is on the third floor nursing station, he's expecting you…" the receptionist looked oddly pitying as she said this.

Eli thanked her hurriedly and ran over to the elevators, stabbing at the 'up' button repeatedly.

She couldn't be late for her first day at work!

The elevator doors opened, Eli stepped inside and stabbed at the '3' button ten times faster than she had on the previous one…

Come on come on come on come on come on!!!

The elevator began to rise… Yes yes yes!!!

It stopped on two! No no no!!!

The doors opened…

Eli gasped.

Stepping through the doors was none other than Tim; the man that she had met the night before at the club!

Tim stepped into the elevator and regarded Eli in surprise. "I know you… you're the girl from the club right?" he took in what she was wearing, the white lab coat, the same type of clothes he was wearing, "You work here?"

Eli couldn't believe this but she nodded dumbly. "Intern?" Tim asked, Eli nodded dumbly again, "Who's your resident?"

"Kurt," Eli said dumbly, hating every word that came out of her mouth and herself for speaking them.

Tim seemed to look at her pityingly like the receptionist had. Unlike her, he actually told her why. "Dr. Kurt is very… strict. Around here, people call him the 'Nazi' and 'the Mouth' for… well, I suppose you'll find out soon enough…"

Eli was about to ask him to elaborate when the doors opened, and standing there, beautiful golden hair flowing around her, was a gorgeous woman in a doctor's clothes, looking a little pissed at the sight of Tim.

"Who's that?" she asked Tim, totally ignoring Eli as if she didn't even exist.

Tim grew serious again. "This is Eli, she's a new surgical intern under Dr. Kurt," unlike the others, the woman did not give Eli a pitying glance; she didn't _look_ at her at all.

"And I thought Alex was the one who couldn't keep himself in check," she said angrily, shooting daggers at Tim with green eyes.

Before Tim could retort, Eli cut in. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name…" she said.

The golden-manned woman looked at Eli incredulously, as if she didn't believe she had opened her mouth. "I'm Dr. Muffy Sheppard, Chief of Neurosurgery. I'm also his wife."

_Sometimes, life may throw you breaks, but most of the time you end up with useless and hurtful things. Don't try to understand it, you'll just hurt your head. Good or bad, deal with what life throws at you. In the end, that's all you can really do in life; take what you're given._

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Like it? Anyway, just note that Muffy, Lumina and Ann are the same ones from the games!

R&R!


	3. First Days are Always Hell

Sorry, sorry. sorry!!! A day late...

Anyway, please note that when I say Kurt I'm referring to Jamie (that's his last name...) and that I'm going to start expanding on my characters and maybe put Eli in surgery nxt chapter!

Enjoy!!!

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First Days are Always Hell

_Have you ever noticed that things aren't what you imagine?_

_Sometimes you dread something so much that when you finally get to it wasn't as bad as you thought, in fact, sometimes you might grow to love it._

_But, sometimes, things are _exactly_ the way you expected. It turned out that that voice talking to you wasn't just paranoia; it was real. Some sort of sixth sense telling you not to do it, like if you were a move and the watchers were screaming at you to _not _do that._

_But, being high and mighty, we usually don't listen to these voices, unable to distinguish them from your garden variety paranoia, and we end up walking into just what that little voice was warning us about; pure hell._

Dr. Muffy Sheppard's radiant green eyes had turned into flashes of anger as she stared Eli down in the tiny elevator.

Muffy's words echoed in her mind: _… I'm also his wife…_

The man that Eli hadn't stopped thinking about since the night before was _taken._

Had he led her on?

Yes, she had; at least she thought he had.

No, she _knew_ that he had. He had talked to her; grinned at her, made casual conversation as if he were the most single, available man on the face of the earth.

_I'm also his wife…_

Where did she get off?

That thirty-something year old silicone filled cheap floozy, probably using all the money Tim made working to get face lifts and nose jobs and Botox…

_…Chief of Neurosurgery…_

Oh, _God…_

She had picked the wrong leaching, aging, silicone filled floozy to mess with… She was the freaking Chief of Neurosurgery, an attending; someone that could make her life at work _miserable._

_Back down Eli; he's just a two-timing ass that wanted you to be his latest affair…_

Tim was talking to his wife in a stern voice when Eli fazed back to reality. "-what is it, Muffy? Is there something you forgot to inform me of the last time we spoke?"

Muffy sighed and spoke to Tim in a hushed, almost remorseful voice. _Almost._

"We haven't spoken in a week Tim; what with the back-to-back surgeries we've both had to perform this week; tumors, cists, biopsies…" Muffy sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through her golden hair, "I'm exhausted… worked all day yesterday…" her eyes seemed to light up, "I'm going home… can you-,"

Tim shook his head, making Muffy look down at the floor, disappointment and bitter resentment on her face before Tim even spoke. "I can't," Tim said, not so sorry, face a mask of non emotion, "I have five surgeries today and Hardy's having me stay tonight and tomorrow until noon… I apologize…"

"Save it Tim," Muffy sighed, walking into the elevator, brushing past Eli as if she didn't exist, "I'm working the night shift tonight; maybe," she sighed again, deeper this time, "Maybe we can have dinner in the cafeteria if you're free…"

"We'll see," Tim said, walking out of the elevator, brushing past Eli as well, making her shiver, he turned back and looked at Muffy, a sad twinkle in his eyes, "It's… it's a date… Sleep well…"

Muffy nodded, made eye contact with Tim then looked away as he sped down the hall.

She then turned to Eli, the emotion that had just been in her eyes disappearing when she laid eyes on her again. "I thought you were an intern," she said coldly, "Don't you have to get going? Getting fired on your first day does not look good on your résumé," she smiled coolly, "Unless you're aiming for that of course…"

Eli bobbed her head respectfully and made her way out of the elevator just as the doors closed. She looked back, and she could've sworn she saw Muffy look… utterly defenseless and so totally sad.

Making her way down the whitewashed corridors as nurses sped past her, carrying out their duties, Eli tried to force the Tim-situation out of her mind…

The nursing station was adorned with high-tech computers, a few busy-looking young women sitting behind them, typing away as doctors in white lab coats stepped in and out from behind the desks; poking at charts or shouting orders.

To think; one day, she; Eli would be one of those doctors… Maybe one day she could be just like the doctors on TV; saving lives…

Even though she'd never wanted it; to be a doctor; she… she thought that maybe, just maybe she could grow to like this…

She stopped at the nursing station and talked to a young looking blonde with glasses. "I'm looking for a Dr. Kurt… I'm supposed to be meeting him… first year intern," Eli said proudly.

The nurse's face blanched and Eli heard an arrogant, haughty voice speak instead of her. "Let me guess? You're Miss Eli Grey, correct?"

Eli spun around and came face to face with a strange-looking, purple-haired doctor. Piercing, penetrating eyes burned holes into hers, and honestly, Eli didn't know if this doctor was a man or a woman.

"Yes," Eli said, smiling then read the doctor's name tag… and froze, "Oh… so you're Dr. Kurt…"

"Yes," Dr. Jamie Kurt said, eyes narrowing into slits as he appraised Eli quickly, he then spun on his heel and faced an assembled group of men and women that Eli had not noticed until now, "Miss Grey here has just made one of the biggest mistake any doctor can ever make. Can any of you tell me what that mistake was?"

There were no takers, save another arrogant looking young man whose eyes bore into Eli, total distaste in his demeanor. "She's late," the ginger haired man said. Eli's eyes flew to the clock; seven-oh-five… she was five minutes late.

Kurt nodded, turning back to Eli. "Suppose you were called into surgery, you're five minutes late and there are no other doctors available because it's Halloween and all doctors know that holidays are hell… Patient dies; it's on you," Kurt spat out every syllable, making Eli recede in shock, Kurt's ferocity did not diminish; it only seemed… partially sated, "Now that you 'interns'," he said the word mockingly, "Have learned your first lesson as doctors, we should probably give you your tour," he sighed and spun on his heel, "Lucky you; this one's free."

Eli, still shocked by Dr. Kurt's outburst, could only fall in line with the rest of the interns as Kurt sped through the building, giving short summaries on everything that would be relevant to first year interns.

As Kurt blabbed about the importance of the clinic, a pink-haired girl, unnoticed until now, crept ever so closer to Eli. Curious red eyes looked at the brunette in interest and finally, beside herself, she tapped her shoulder lightly, making Eli jump as she was torn out of her thoughts.

"Sorry," the pink-haired girl whispered, a friendly smile on her face, "I just wanted to say that before you got here, Dr, Kurt insulted all of us… well," the pink-haired huffed, "Everyone except that guy…"

She gestured towards the same ginger-haired boy that had so happily embarrassed Eli in front of everyone who was speeding right behind Dr. Kurt, looking at everything Kurt talked about.

Eli smiled in thanks, but the pink-haired girl wasn't done yet. "My name's Popuri," she said, cocking her head to the side, "Well… now its _Dr._ Popuri Thomas… but, well, you get the picture…"

"My name's Eli… Dr. Eli Grey, I guess…" Eli said, and Popuri nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Eli!" she whispered loudly so as not to interrupt Dr. Kurt's great ramblings on the patient charts.

"Likewise… Popuri…" Eli said genially, happy to have found someone that was actually nice among a gang of seemingly cruel and apathetic people.

Kurt made a sharp left and led them into a room lined with lockers. "This is the break room," Kurt said, pointing at the lockers, "All personal items go in there and _stay there_ while you're on the job," he looked at a digital watch strapped to his wrist, sighed, and spoke, "You have five minutes to do that; find a locker you want; you're not choosing a husband!" he warned, staring at Popuri as she scanned the lockers, "No stickers, or posters! You're not in high school anymore, hear me!? You're doctors," he snapped, "Start acting like one!"

He then proceeded to speed out of the room, leaving the five interns alone, just like that.

Now that she actually had time to look at them, she took in a lot more than what was usual. Besides Popuri and the ginger-haired guy with issues, there were two others.

Inspecting one of the lockers was a gorgeous, model-worthy woman. She was a brunette, but her hair was streaked with surprisingly natural looking blonde. She had vibrant green eyes; yet they were so dull for some reason.

Beside the gorgeous blonde was a mousy looking raven-colored haired girl. She wore half moon spectacles that made her look like the classic librarian; had it not been for the white lab coat she was wearing, Eli would have thought that she was indeed a mousy librarian. She seemed to be hovering over the blonde, who didn't seem to bother at all.

"Hey, Earth to Eli," Popuri said, waving her hand in front of Eli's face, making her blink rapidly a couple of times before jumping back in surprise, "You need to get a locker before Dr. Kurt comes back!"

Alas, she was right! That was all she needed, Dr. Kurt to embarrass her in front of her new colleagues _again_.

Quickly, Eli grabbed a lock and picked the locker right next to Popuri, sticking her cell and purse in the large space, then slamming it closed, ripping the combination off the lock, then slapped it right on; all with two minutes to spare.

Sighing in relief, Eli sank down into the bench next to Popuri, running her sweaty palms through her hair. "It's not brain surgery, you know?" the blonde asked her, looking at her from across the room, beside the mousy haired librarian/intern.

"E-excuse me…?" Eli asked in surprise.

The blonde sighed, a look of irritation on her face. "I said that choosing a locker isn't exactly the most difficult thing in the world," they made eye contact, and the blonde's expression softened a bit, "My name's Karen, Karen Lang."

"O-oh…" Eli said, fumbling with words because of the surprise at having Karen talking to her, "I'm E-,"

"Eli Grey, right…" Karen said dismissively, "I got that from the Nazi's ramblings…" she explained nonchalantly, then nudged the mousy girl, who jumped and looked at Karen, then at Eli and a curious, wide-eyed Popuri.

"M-m-my n-name is Mary… R-Romaine… N-nice to meet you…" the mousy girl stammered, avoiding eye contact.

"Popuri! Popuri Thomas!" Popuri exclaimed, throwing her arm up, "Nice to meet ya!"

Karen forced a smile while Mary just nodded a couple of times.

Kurt walked back into the break room, bearing gifts no less. Five black beepers were cradled in his arms, and he walked up to every one of them and handed a beeper tenderly. "These things are more precious than life itself," Kurt was saying as he handed a beeper to Eli, "You keep these on you _at all times_, are we clear?"

Everyone nodded quickly, afraid to set the ticking time bomb that was Dr. Jamie Kurt off. Seeming satisfied, Kurt held out four fingers. "There are four things that you have to remember if you want to live this out. First; you're _interns_; the lowest of the low; you have _nothing_, are _nothing_. Right now all you are is wallpaper; all you do is observe and do what I _tell you_, understand?

"Second; there is absolutely no personal lives part of the job. We're here to _save lives_, not see if that cute guy over in physical therapy likes you. Keep your pants up," Kurt made eye contact with everyone of them, making them thoroughly uncomfortable, "And your emotions in check. Third; there are absolutely no relationships with patients. First rule for doctors is to avoid attachments to everyone that walks through these doors. When they die; and _trust me_, a lot of them are going to die, it'll just end up crippling you as a surgeon; making you useless to your other patients and to this hospital.

"Last;" Kurt looked at Eli, making her shrink back within herself at his stare, "While you are _my _interns, you will always be here on time, will leave when I tell you to and will do nothing unless I expressly tell you too; you jump when I jump. Do you understand me?"

All the interns nodded, and Jamie Kurt sighed, ran a hand through his unusual purple hair, and turned around, then walked away. Seconds later, Jamie turned around. "_Follow._"

The bewildered interns followed him as he continued to speed down the maze off corridors that was Mineral Hospital.

The rest of the day was filled with a lesson on how to fill out charts and how imperative it was that they noted everything on the chart perfectly, the proper sayings to use when you needed something from the nurses, and other things that Kurt felt was very important to know.

At noon, Kurt led them to the cafeteria and dropped them off, warning, "If you were really on duty, then you wouldn't have time to eat lunch. Treasure this time; because it might be the only time that you can actually eat from our excellent cafeteria."

And with that, Kurt ran off, rambling a bit about how incompetent his interns were.

Exhausted already, Eli, accompanied by Popuri, Karen and Mary made the line to get food and paid then picked a table and sat down with them. They ate in silence, with Mary occasionally looking around the bustling cafeteria nervously.

Fifteen minutes later, they had finished eating and sat slouched in their seats, complacent with their lunches. Eli, however, was conflicted…

"Why the hell are you idiots still slouching around…?" came a nonchalant voice, filled with the same arrogance Eli remembered from that morning.

It was the guy from that morning; the guy that had embarrassed her…

"What do _you _want?" Karen asked snidely, sipping a bit of her tea, "We're on break…"

The guy snorted and ran a hand through his ginger hair, blue eyes as cold as arctic ice. "Well, that's why you idiots are never going to become good doctors…"

"_Excuse me_?" Popuri asked, childish face puffed out in annoyance.

But it was not the group that the guy was referring to; it was Eli, who could only stare back at him listlessly. "You're dragging me down, _Miss_ Grey," the guy said, making eye contact with Eli, "You're dragging us _all_ down."

"No she's not!" Mary snapped to the surprise of everyone.

He sighed. "There are five other intern teams on their first year. Only one team will be picked by Chief Hardy to progress to second year intern level. If my team sucks, then I suck," he looked at the others, "I'm doing all of us a favor by cutting out the weakest link," he explained, "If she can't even get to work on time, how do you think she's going to be able to save lives?"

"You can take your advice and shove it!" Karen snapped, and was then echoed by Popuri and Mary, who stared up at him defiantly.

The guy, who's name tag read 'Dr. Hawkins' sighed and skulked off, leaving Eli feeling worse than she ever thought possible.

Even as her new friends tried to reassure her, Eli knew that what he said was true; that in the end, she's just end up dragging everyone down.

She never wanted to be here… she did it out of obligation to the woman that had raised her; Ellen, her grandmother… If she didn't have that drive, how could she expect to succeed…?

* * *

The day ended slowly, and at nine at night Eli was in the elevator heading down to the Ground floor.

At two, the doors opened and in walked the last person that Eli wanted to see; Tim Sheppard. Over the course of the day, Eli had heard a lot about him; about how he and Muffy Stilwell had married while they were both residents and had sacrificed their marriage for becoming the best; Muffy the Chief of Neurosurgery and Tim the Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery; about how skilled Tim was in the operating room; about how he and Dr. Alex Boxer; Chief of Plastic Surgery, had been friends since med school…

"Miss Grey…" Tim greeted emotionlessly, stepping into the elevator and sighing, "How was your first day as an intern?"

"Fine, Dr. _Sheppard_," Eli lied coldly.

Tim looked at her in bewilderment at her attitude, but before he could ask what the matter was, the doors opened and Eli stormed off home…

_Usually, the voices that tell you about impending doom are right on target._

Eli opened the door to her grandmother's house and ran up the stairs, checking on both Ellen and her little brother Stu. She hadn't called them all day; what had happened today? Had Stu done something new? Had Ellen's condition worsened? Why hadn't she _been here?_

Then, all at once, the day came crashing down on her, and Eli wept silently at her grandmother's bedside, trying not to wake her from precious sleep.

_But when we figure out exactly what it is that went wrong, it's too late, and it crashes down on us like the tide of the ocean._

Muffy waited in the cafeteria, hoping that Tim had not been hit with surgery.

They _needed _this time… If they didn't have it then… then…

No, she wouldn't have another failed relationship under her belt. She loved Tim; wasn't that what mattered? Why was life making it so impossible for them to be together? Why?

The last doctors exited, leaving her all alone in the usually lively and bustling place… He… wasn't coming, was he?

_And when you try to recover from what happened…_

Tim rushed into the cafeteria, Muffy looked up.

Their eyes met from across the room…

_It's usually too late to fix it._

They smiled; they'd made it…

There was hope after-,

Twin shrill beeps pierced the air, and as one, Muffy and Tim looked at the offending beepers.

Urgent surgery… One of Tim's patients had just had a massive heart attack; triple bypass. A man had just walked into the ER; he'd had a stroke; Muffy needed to remove the blockage ASAP.

They looked at each other again, eyes filled with sadness and regret…

_And that's what the worst thing is after all… That when you really want something… you can't get it because you yourself burned that bridge while looking for success, and there's no turning back once you have it…_

To be continued…

* * *

Sad, huh? That's drama for you...

Anyway, hope you liked it...

There's a lot more to be done; Jamie isn't as bad as you think, Muffy just wants to get her relationship straightened out; Karen, Popuri and Mary have backstories and will begin to become big parts of the story soon; Gray isn't as bad as you think even though he's made Eli his enemy; Hardy and Alex are going to become main characters soon, as Will Cliff...

Sigh... So much to say... Also, Where the Heart is fans, please PM me if you want me to begin again and tell me why. See my profile fr more details...

Hope you liked it!!! R&R!!!


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